Oil burner



IJuly 21,

T. -w. HUNTER OIL BURNER Filed Jan. s. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

@fx/wma@ W #uam BY u 424 flfa' j ATTORNEYS.

Patented July 21, 1931 PATENT OFFC OIL BURNER Application led January 3, 1927'.

This invention relates to oil burnersand especially to improvements on the type of burner disclosed in my former Patent Nunaber 1,433,822, entitled Oil burner and issued October 31, 1922.

rllhe burner disclosed in the patent above referred to, is particularly intended for use inV conjunction with light oils of the gravity of kerosene and the like and distinguishable'when comparison is made With most oil burners in that the oil is not generated to form a gas prior to combustion, but is permitted to burn directly from the surface of the oil.

The burner forming the subject matter of the present application also operates on the same principle as combustion takes place directly from the surface of' the liquid fuel. The object of the present invention iste generally improve and simplify the construction and operation of burners of the character described; to so design the burnerthat the surface of liquid fuel presented for combustion may be materially increased and further to provide a burner' of this characterV in which substantially ideal co-mingl'ing of air and combustib-le products is obtained so as to insure a hot smokeless flame. The invention is shown by Way of illustration in the accompanying drawings, in Which: n

Figure 1 is a central vertical section of the burner, taken on the line I-I of Figure 2,

Figure 2 is a. plan vien7 of the burner, Figure 3 is a cross section taken on the line H--III of Figure 2, A Y Figure 4 is a plan section taken on the line V-IV of Figure 1. l

The burner shown in the present instance is particularly intended for use in poultry brooders and like heaters and as a number or variety of heaters may be employed a partial illustration of the heater proper is all that is thought necessary.4 In this connection A indicates the bottom of the heater, 2 the side Wall of the same and B a base or like suitable support. The bottom of the heater indicated at A has a circular opening formed therein, as indicated at and this opening is covered by the oil burner generally indicated at C.

Serial N0. 158,463.

The burner proper consists of an annular base section D circulnscribing the opening 3 and a cover section C mounted upon the base. The base section consists of an annular ring-like member 4 on the exterior of which is formed al plurality of lugs 5 whereby it is secured to the bottom section A of the heater. Formed on the inner surface of the ring-like inem-ber are a plurality of radially disposed arms 6 and 6a: and supported by said arms is an oil pan generallyv indicated at AThe pan consists of a central well 7 to which oil such as kerosene or the like is delivered from a suitable source of supply 8. Surrounding the well and arranged in steplike formation with the Well assuming the highest point of elevation are a series of annular troughs such as shown at 9, 10` and The cover member C is ring-shaped and is provided with an exterior-down turnedannularv Hangs 12 which is sup-ported on the upper peripheral edge of the ring 4v. The cover is' also erolvided With a pair of inner arcuate flanges, such as shown at 18 and 14. These flanges are spaced from and lie along a circle concentric with the exterior flange. Each oi these flanges is formed at one end with an inwardly directed flange such as shown at 13a and 14a here shown as diagrammatically opposed. The rnction of these flanges Wil-l later be described. The flanges 13Y and 14 are separated as shown in Figure 4 and as such form openings 15 and 16 through Which air is admitted. The cover member is otherwise provided with a substantially centrally disposed rectangularshaped opening 17 through which the flame from the burner discharges and this fia-me is, in turn, deilected and spread out Within the heater by a deector plate 18 suspended from the cross rod 19.

In actual operation, it may be stated that the oil supply to the Well 7 is regulated by a thermostaticallv controlled valve (not here illustrated). The supply is, accordingly, automatically controlled and the predetermined temlperature is maintained. The oil entering through the pipe 8 fills the Well 7 and this, in turn, overflows into the annular troughs 9, 10 and 11. The oil thus overflowing is ignited and the oil is thus spread over al comparatively large surface and burns directly from this surface without generation of gas. The air required for combustion enters through the circular opening 3 formed in the bottom of the heater. lt passes upwardly between the radial arms 6 and 6a through the spaces indicated at 20, 21, 22 and 23 (see Figure 4L) and as such passes upwardly and under the cover member C'. rEhe air then passes over the arms 6a and passes through the openings 15 and 16. The air is here deflected by the flanges 13a and 14a and enters the area of combustion with a slight swirling movement thereby causing suiiicient agitation to produce a substantially ideal comingling of the combustible products and air and, furthermore, insuring a hot smokeless white flame. This iiame discharges through the opening 17 and impinges against the defiector plate 18 which 'deflects the Haine radially outwardly into the heater.

t was previously stated that the oil flow to the well and the troughs 9, 10 and 11 was tliermostatically controlled. rl`his is of considerable importance as any variation in the oil supply will increase or decrease the area of oil exposed for combustion, for instance, if the heater is substantially up to temperature, the oil supply may be so small that it is merely burning from the Lipper surface of the well and the annular trough 9. lf the heater is not up to temperature, the oil may be overflowing into the second trough 10 and the flame will then be burning from this trough and supplying additional heat and when the burner is first started, the oil will not only overflow into the troughs 9 and 10, but also into the trough 11 and at that time the greatest amount of oil is exposed for combustion. If an excess of oil should be supplied at this period, it may overflow and escape outwardly on one of the arms (da. This arm has a drain passage formed in its outer end and indicated at 6b. A drain pipe (not indicated) is connected with the overflow opening and may return the oil to the source of supply.

l/Vhen starting the burner, particularly when cold, it has been found that the air enter.- ing through the openings 15 and 16 enters with such velocity to tend to blo-w or snuff out the iiame rising from the surface of the oil. To avoid this a number of radially disposed lugs Q5 are formed on the exterior surface of the annular trough 9. These iianges produce eddy actions when the air enters and acts to shelter the fiame from direct cross draft and thereby prevents extinguishing of the same. These flanges also serve another function as actual experience has determined that small amounts of carbon tend to form atthe inner ends of the This carbon is of material advantage in the present instance as it serves as a wicking to draw the oil from the well 7 and the trough 9 down into the annular trough 10. The plate burner is a material improvement on the burner disclosed in my former patent, as it permits a larger area of oil to be exposed to combustion and as such increases the temperature range of the burner. The arrangement of the deflecting lugs 13a and 14a and the segmental flange sections 13 and 14 is very important, as it causes a more thorough co-mingling of the air and combustible products, thus insuring better and clearer combustion. The burner is, otherwise, simple in construction and as the air circulates substantially through all the interior parts, temperatures sufficiently high to cause cracking or warping are avoided and the life of the burner is, accordingly, materially increased.

While certain features of the present invention are more or less specifically described, I wish it to be understood that various changes may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims, and that the materials and finishes of the several parts employed may be such as the manufacturer may decide or varying conditions or uses may demand.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A liquid fuel burner comprising an annular base structure having a circular outer wall, a burner structure carried thereby and disposed centrally thereof, said structure comprising a disc-shaped pan from the floor of which rises a central conical structure having concentric corrugations therearound of successively reduced diameters, an oil well extending downwardly through the center of the said conical structure and adapted to be continuously supplied with oil to overflow the mouth of the well and to flow downwardly over the corrugations of the burner into the pan while combustion is taking place on the surface of the oil, an air passageway between the outer wall of the base and the burner pan, a cover carried by the base and having a circular flange resting upon the outer wall of the base and arcuate flanges resting upon the outer edge of the oil burner pan whereby a central annular oil passageway will be formed beneath the cover aand around the pan within said base, said arcuate flanges being spaced a distance apart to provide diametrically opposed radial openings into the compartment enclosing the burner, the cover having a central opening in its top center directly over the burner to permit the liame to rise from tlie burning oil.

2. A liquid fuel burner comprising an annular base structure having a circular outer wall, a burner structure carried thereby and disposed centrally thereof, said structure comprising a disc-shaped pan from the iioor of which rises a central conical structure having concentric corrugations therearound of successively reduced diameters, an oil Well extending downwardly through the center of the said conical structure and adapted to be continuously supplied with oil to overow the mouth of the well and to flow downwardly over the corrugations of the burner into the pan while combustion is taking place on the surface of the oil, an air passageway between the outer wall of the base and the burner pan, a cover carried by the base and having a circular flange resting upon the outer Wall of the base and arcuate flanges resting upon the outer edge of the oil burner pan whereby a central annular oil passageway will be formed beneath the cover and around the pan within said base, said arcuate flanges being spaced a distance apart to provide diametrically opposed radial openings into the compartment enclosing the burner, alternate ends 0f saidA arcuate flanges being formed with inturned flange lips adapted t0 give a tangential direction of travel to the air passing through the compartment enclosing` the burner.

3. An oil burner comprising a base member having a central fuel feed cup and an annular flange disposed concentrically of said cup and coacting therewith to provide a relatively shallow annular Mfuel channel, said base member having air inlet openings at the outside of its said flange, and a top member having an outer wall resting on said base member at the outside of its said air inlet openings and having spaced segmental mixing chamber walls coacting with said flange of said bottom member providing a mixing chamber surrounding said fuel feed cup and having opposed air inlets, said mixing chamber walls having inwardly projecting baflles at the ends thereof, said stop member having a central opening therein.

4f. An oil burner comprising a base member having a central fuel feed cup and an annular ange disposed concentrically of said cup and coacting therewith to provide a relatively shallow annular fuel channel, said base member having air inlet openings at the outside of its said flange, and a top member` having an outer wall resting on said base member at lthe outside of its said air inlet openings and having spaced segmental mixing chamber walls coacting with said flange of said bottom member providing a mixing chamber surrounding fuel feed cup and having Opposed air inlets, said top member having a central opening therein.

THOMAS W. HUNTER. 

